This invention pertains to tape cleaners and more particularly to apparatus for wiping the surfaces of a magnetic tape mounted in a cassette.
Heretofore magnetic tapes in reel-to-reel configurations were moved from one reel to the other reel opposite a cleaning station, these stations could be brushes, wiping tissues or even liquid baths. However, with the use of video tape cassettes wherein the magnetic tape is within the cassette, the previously known techniques cannot be used because the tape must be unloaded from the cassette before any cleaning can be done. The work and complications involved have lead people to merely replace old cassettes instead of going to the greater expense of cleaning.
In U.S. Pat. No. 640,293, now abandoned, there is shown a film cleaning device which draws photographic film from a cartridge for cleaning. However, this device operates such that it cannot be used to process magnetic tape.